If you looked online after Season 2 of Nobody Wants This released in October 2025, the general sentiment online featured comments about how “not enough happened,” or that Joanne (Kristen Bell) and Noah (Adam Brody) just kept having the same back-and-forth over Judaism; series creator Erin Foster says the writers’ room listened.
Chatting with DECIDER about the third season of Netflix‘s hit rom-com series, Foster opened up about hearing the criticisms from fans about the second season’s pacing and how it leads directly into the major events that come in the show’s third season.
“We definitely took into account that Season 2 ending felt, you know, a lot of people felt like not enough happened or shifted forward and we did, of course, take that into account while [writing Season 2],” she explains. “The cadence that we’re on in the writers’ room is that we start writing the next season before the season previously airs, and so we were already planning on giving Season 3 all the big romantic moments that we weren’t able to do in Season 2. And I totally, of course, see and hear that that frustrated people. I do hope, though, that if someone looks at all three seasons together, you see how Season 2 was the important sort of stutter step and pause before the big moments that you get in Season 3.”
Several of the big moments Foster is referring to include Noah and Joanne’s surprise engagement in Episode 4 (“Brian’s Wedding”) and the impromptu wedding on the beach in Episode 10 (“The Plunge”) after Joanne’s Mikveh. Additionally, with characters like Sasha (Timothy Simons), Morgan (Justine Lupe), and Esther (Jackie Tohn) flirting with the concept of a love triangle, Foster says the show taking its time to get to where they want to go is not something she soon anticipates regretting.
“If you move too quickly, you don’t earn it,” the creator says, adding that to really make sure that Noah and Joanne are in a comfortable spot, she wanted the show to explore doubts and struggles that might come up in any major love story like this. “And I really wanted Season 2 to accurately reflect the steps in the relationship that you have to take first before you get engaged, before you get married, before you jump on board. And I didn’t want Joanne to be frivolous about converting because I wasn’t frivolous about it. I wanted it to be meaningful to her and have her asking all the questions.”
Foster adds, “And so I think it was important to give weight to those decisions and not have her rush into anything, and that’s what we did.”
As for how they navigated the tricky waters of getting to the engagement and wedding, why they decided to finally have Sasha and Morgan go there in Season 3, and how her own cameo during one of the season’s most important episodes came together, read on for DECIDER’s full interview with the series creator below.
DECIDER: At the end of Season 2, you and I talked about people misunderstanding the meaning of the finale. How did hearing fans’ thoughts and takes impact you guys while writing Season 3?
ERIN FOSTER: We definitely took into account that Season 2’s ending felt, you know, a lot of people felt like not enough happened or shifted forward. And we did, of course, take that into account while [writing Season 2]. The cadence that we’re on in the writers’ room is that we start writing the next season before the season previously airs and so we were already planning on giving Season 3 all the big romantic moments that we weren’t able to do in Season 2. And I totally, of course, see and hear that that frustrated people. I do hope, though, that if someone looks at all three seasons together, you see how Season 2 was the important sort of stutter step and pause before the big moments that you get in Season 3. Because if you move too quickly, you don’t earn it. And I really wanted Season 2 to accurately reflect the steps in the relationship that you have to take first before you get engaged, before you get married, before you jump on board. And I didn’t want Joanne to be frivolous about converting because I wasn’t frivolous about it. I wanted it to be meaningful to her and have her asking all the questions. And so I think it was important to give weight to those decisions and not have her rush into anything. And that’s what we did.
You think the stutter step was necessary to get us to Season 3 and the big moments. How did we land on ending Season 3 with a wedding?
Yeah, we had considered doing it in Season 2. It felt too fast to be able to serve it properly, which is why we pushed it to Season 3. And we did want to end Season 3 with the wedding, and so we kind of knew going into Season 3, engagement in an unexpected early episode, that was important. And then a wedding on their own terms in the finale. And then we kind of filled in the gaps in between.
What was the rationale behind “wedding on their own terms.” You guys spent a decent chunk of the season having them agonize over this wedding that now is inconsequential.
Well, you know, these two people, they met later in life and they are an older bride and groom. And so when you see each other’s parents getting involved and you know wedding planning, it always takes you down paths you don’t wanna be on. And it becomes about something that you don’t want it to be about. And you lose control a lot of the time and it gets tense and it gets toxic and you’re like, “What are we doing this for? I thought we just wanted to spend our lives together.” And so if we were gonna show all the ways that wedding planning kind of takes over your life and becomes about the wrong thing, then we wanted them to take it back in the finale. Because these people are grownups, they’re adults. And I loved the idea of them getting to have a really unexpected, sweet, special, on-their-own-terms wedding.
I think the surprise element is important, too. How did you land on it also being tied to Joanne’s Mikveh?
We were gonna maybe do the Mikveh in Season 2, we were looking for that to be the finale and it just — the pacing didn’t work out for it to make sense there. We knew for a long time we wanted it to be in the ocean and it was complicated. I mean, it was very, very challenging to do. There were many moments where we didn’t know if we were going to be able to do it because it was like winter in LA and the ocean is crazy and we couldn’t find a place that would be calm enough. And Kristen was not gonna be able to wear a wetsuit or anything protective. And she’s such a professional; she’s such a game player, like she’s so down to get in the mud and do what she has to do, but it was very challenging for us to figure out. Luckily, our director, Richard Shepard, was really solution-oriented to figure it out because it’s what we had had in our mind for a long time. And so we knew we wanted it to be like that, but it was gonna be very hard to pull off, especially that you’re hearing the words she’s saying in the water. It was just, it was technically very challenging.
I told Kristen at the launch party that when the scene on the beach started, I thought, “How are they going to one-up the beach scene from The Good Place,” and then cut to me sobbing 10 minutes later.
Oh, I’m so glad.
What has the response been like so far?
It’s so positive. I mean, it’s been incredible. It really has felt incredible. You know, this, the amount of time and energy and focus and love and care that goes into this, when it comes out in the world, you can’t help but be glued to your phone and to your computer or waiting to see how people feel about it. And so people having such a positive reaction, loving it so much, saying this is their favorite season. It’s really validating and it feels incredible.
And in Episode 4, we get a little character named “Nicole.” Talk to me about how this came together and why this pivotal episode was perfect for a cameo for you?
You know, life is so funny. It worked out so perfectly. Season 1, there were conversations around if I should play a character, but nothing felt right. I really didn’t want to force it at all. I really wanted to focus behind the scenes. It’s a lot of work to be done. So there’s not really space for me to think like, “What’s another thing I could be doing?” And then Season 2, the conversation came up a little bit, but again, there was nothing that really made sense. And so I really didn’t think I was gonna be in this show and I liked the idea of that. Like, I wasn’t trying to put myself in the show. And then when we started talking about, you know, Episode 4 has to be its own story. If they didn’t get engaged at the end, it would have to still be a standalone episode about something else for it to work. And so we really wanted to focus on this story of Joanne feeling like she’s leaving these girls behind. It’s something that I felt when I got married, that I sort of didn’t know who to be if I was really happy and settled in my life. And as we developed this character of Nicole, I was sort of mimicking and portraying her in the writers’ room and in conversations, and I think it was Jenni Konner, she was like, “You know you have to play Nicole.” And as soon as she said it, I thought, “Wait a second, do I?” I was so scared to say yes and embrace it, but then it ended up being incredible.
I think it worked out really, really well. Same thing with finally getting to the Sasha and Morgan of it all. Why did you guys decide to tackle the concept of them in this moment?
It really reveals itself, you know? I mean, we really needed to clean up him and Esther in Season 2 and end with him and Morgan as friends with an asterisk of like “it’s complicated.” And then for Season 3, once Esther really was ready to move on and have her own relationship and be kind of exploring her own stuff. I liked the idea of when someone wants to leave a marriage because they think there’s so much else out there for them and then they get out there and they’re like, “Wait a second, this isn’t as easy as I thought it was going to be.” And then that partner who got left behind, who doesn’t want a date, then kind of realizes, “Wait a sec, there’s kind of fun stuff out here for me.” You know I’ve seen that happen with a lot of marriages and so I thought that felt very real to me. Once that person is out there kind of being validated, then it gave a chance for Morgan to look at him a little bit differently. And Morgan is just struggling to be herself and be with someone who appreciates her for who she is and doesn’t wanna be in a toxic relationship. And so it all just kind of merged together in the perfect way. And it just, it came together in such a special episode that Jenni Konner and Megan Mazur wrote.
You mentioned Morgan not wanting to be in a toxic relationship. We get a little bit more about Morgan’s mysterious ex-husband in that episode. Are we breadcrumbing a character? Is this someone we might meet in a potential Season 4?
Yes, definitely. I mean, it’s funny, because kind of every season we’ve thought, “Do we bring her ex-husband into the mix?” And we haven’t really known which way we want to go with it. And so I do think that if we do a fourth season, we would want to meet him.
Well, on that note, there is a world in which someone could see this chapter being complete. There are also unfinished storylines. Where are you at on a Season 4?
I mean, we’re always open. I think as the season comes out and we see people’s reactions, then, you know, we wait for the call and we’re ready to go if they want us.
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